Poinsettia plant named ‘Fismars Pink’

ABSTRACT

A new Poinsettia plant particularly distinguished by medium size, pink, ovate bracts in a flat, rosette-like arrangement, with deep green foliage, ovate leaves with nearly no lobes, early to medium flowering response and a medium size, V-shape plant habit, is disclosed.

Genus and species: Euphorbia pulcherrima.

Variety denomination: ‘Fismars Pink’.

BACKGROUND OF THE NEW PLANT

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar ofpoinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima, andhereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Fismars Pink’. The newcultivar is the result of an induced mutation in the poinsettia plant‘Fismars’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,977) made in the year 2003 inAhrensburg, Germany.

In May 2003, young plants of ‘Fismars’ were irradiated with x-rays inAhrensburg, Germany. The treated plants were grown in Hillscheid,Germany, and were propagated by shoot tip cuttings. The resulting plantswere screened for positive mutations and examined during the floweringperiod in winter 2003/2004. Among these plants a pink-flowered plant wasselected and asexually multiplied for further examination in 2004.

The new cultivar was created in 2003 in Ahrensburg, Germany and has beenasexually reproduced repeatedly by vegetative cuttings in Hillscheid,Germany over a two-year period. ‘Fismars Pink’ has not been observedunder all possible environmental conditions. The present invention hasbeen found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successiveasexual propagations.

Plant Breeder's Rights for this cultivar were applied for in Europe onFeb. 16, 2004 and in Canada on Nov. 17, 2004.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following are the most outstanding and distinguishingcharacteristics of this new cultivar when grown under normalhorticultural practices in Hillscheid, Germany.

-   -   1. Pink bract color;    -   2. Medium size, ovate bracts in a flat, rosette-like        arrangement;    -   3. Deep green foliage with ovate leaves that have nearly no        lobes;    -   4. Medium size, V-shaped plant habit; and    -   5. An early to medium flowering response.

DESCRIPTION OF PHOTOGRAPH

This new poinsettia plant is illustrated by the accompanying photographwhich shows overall plant habit including blooms, buds, and foliage ofthe plant; the colors shown are as true as can be reasonably obtained byconventional photographic procedures. The photograph is of a whole plantabout 18-weeks old and in full flower, grown in a greenhouse inHillscheid, Germany, in early December of 2005.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW CULTIVAR

The following detailed descriptions set forth the distinctivecharacteristics of ‘Fismars Pink’. The data which define thesecharacteristics were collected from asexual reproductions carried out inHillscheid, Germany. The plant history was taken on 18-week old plantswhich were planted as rooted cuttings in 14-cm pots on Jul. 28, 2005 andwere pinched on Aug. 12, 2005, which left 7 to 8 leaves remaining. Theplants were grown in a greenhouse at a minimum temperature of 18° C. anda ventilation temperature of 24° C. The plants initiated flowers undernatural short-day conditions in fall. No black cloth was applied to thegreenhouse to simulate short-day conditions. No growth regulator wasapplied. Color readings were taken under natural light in thegreenhouse. Color references are primarily to the RHS Colour Chart ofThe Royal Horticultural Society of London (RHS) (2001).

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW PLANT

-   Classification:    -   -   Family.—Euphorbiaceae.        -   Botanical.—Euphorbia pulcherrima (Willd. Ex Klotzsch).        -   Common name.—Poinsettia.-   Parentage: Mutation of the red-colored poinsettia plant ‘Fismars’    (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,977).-   Growth:    -   -   Form.—Shrub, self-branching.        -   Growth and branching habit.—Medium size and moderately            compact; pinched plants are bushy with the branches slanting            upright at an angle of about 45°.        -   Height (from soil line to the top).—20.3 cm.        -   Width.—43 cm.        -   Time to produce a finished flowering plant.—17 weeks for a            14 cm pot.        -   Time to initiate and develop roots.—20 to 24 days in a            greenhouse at 22° C. to 24° C.-   Branches:    -   -   Average number.—7.5.        -   Length of branches.—16 cm to 19 cm.        -   Internode length.—1.5 cm to 3 cm.        -   Diameter of branches.—0.6 cm to 0.7 cm.        -   Stem color.—Upper: Approximately RHS 176D (green, weakly            reddish infused). Lower: RHS 143B (green).-   Leaves:    -   -   Quantity.—45 to 55 leaves per plant (6 to 8 leaves per            branch).        -   Arrangement.—Alternate.        -   Size.—Length: 11.6 cm. Width: 7.8 cm.        -   Shape.—Ovate.        -   Margin.—Entire.        -   Apex.—Acuminate.        -   Base.—Truncate to obtuse.        -   Lobes.—Few, rounded, relatively shallow.        -   Color (mature leaves).—Upper surface: Near RHS 137A and RHS            139A. Lower surface: RHS 137C.        -   Color (immature leaves).—Upper surface: RHS 143A. Lower            surface: RHS 137D.        -   Texture.—Upper surface: Smooth and flat, no rugosity, only            weakly veined. Lower surface: Flat and smooth, except for            the slightly protruding midrib and finer side veins in a            pinnate pattern.        -   Venation color.—Upper surface: RHS 143C (green). Lower            surface: RHS 145B (pale green).        -   Variegation.—None.        -   Leaf petiole.—Length: 5.5 cm. Diameter: 0.3 cm. Color: Upper            surface: RHS 146B (dull green). Lower surface: RHS 145A            (light green). Texture: Glabrous. Aspect: Horizontally            directed, leaf blades slanting somewhat downward.-   Bracts:    -   -   Number per inflorescence.—12 to 14.        -   Shape.—Ovate.        -   Base.—Larger: Obtuse. Younger: Acute.        -   Apex.—Acuminate.        -   Lobes.—Rounded, very weak to weak.        -   Size.—Length: 12.0 cm. Diameter: 8.1 cm.        -   Texture.—Mostly smooth, little rugosity with younger bracts            (not fully expanded).        -   Bract color.—Upper surface: RHS 55A (pink) for larger and            lower bracts; closer to RHS 51A for younger bracts; closer            to RHS 53D for smallest bracts.        -   Vein color.—Upper surface: Corresponds closely to the bract            color. Lower surface: RHS 47D (reddish) near base.        -   Bract petiole.—Length: 1.0 cm to 1.5 cm. Color: Upper            surface: RHS 47A (red). Lower surface: RHS 47D.-   Inflorescence:    -   -   Blooming habit.—Beginning under natural short-day conditions            in the Fall: Botanically (cyathia open): Late November.            Commercially (bracts colored, marketable): November 20.        -   Inflorescence type.—Medium size, flat with the bracts mostly            horizontally directed, in the center a tight cyme with            medium size cyathia.        -   Average number of inflorescences.—7.2.        -   Lastingness.—About 4 weeks with no dropping of bracts.        -   Diameter.—20 cm to 23 cm.        -   Height.—3.0 cm to 3.5 cm.-   Cyme:    -   -   Cyme diameter.—About 2.5 cm.        -   Cyathia number.—5 to 7 in a tight cluster.        -   Cyathium.—Shape: Ovate. Diameter: 0.5 cm. Length: 0.6 cm to            0.7 cm. Color: Mainly RHS 143B (green); top is RHS 46D            (red).        -   Peduncle.—Color: RHS 143C (light green). Length: 0.2 cm to            0.3 cm.        -   Nectar cups.—Number: Usually only one per cyathium. Size: Up            to 0.6 cm wide. Color: RHS 15A (golden-yellow).-   Reproductive organs:    -   -   Stamens.—Number: 10 to 15 in a cluster. Filaments: Color:            RHS 46B (red). Length: 0.2 cm to 0.3 cm. Pollen color: RHS            12A (yellow).-   Fruit and seed set: No seed set observed so far.-   Disease and insect resistance: No particular resistance or    susceptibility has been observed.

COMPARISON WITH PARENTAL AND COMMERCIAL CULTIVARS

‘Fismars Pink’ differs from the parental cultivar ‘Fismars’ (U.S. PlantPat. No. 14,997) by having pink instead of red bract color and a morecompact plant habit than ‘Fismars’.

‘Fismars Pink’ differs from the commercial cultivar ‘Fiscorosa’ (U.S.Plant Pat. No. 10,077), by having shorter bracts, inflorescences withfewer cyathia and a more compact plant habit than ‘Fiscorosa’.

‘Fismars Pink’ differs from the commercial cultivar ‘Eckalbert’ (U.S.Plant Patent applied for) by having flatter inflorescences with shorterand more horizontally directed bracts while ‘Eckalbert’ has morefunnel-shaped inflorescences. In addition, the leaves and bracts of‘Fismars Pink’ develop nearly no lobes, while ‘Eckalbert’ shows amoderate oak leaf shape. ‘Fismars Pink’ also has a later floweringresponse of 4 to 8 days compared to ‘Eckalbert’.

1. A new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant as shown anddescribed herein.